Cooking for One Person - Shawnee Mission Health

Laura Hernandez, MBA RD LD
Dietitian
The Bariatric Center of Kansas City
Health Benefits:
Reduces your risk of heart
disease, cancer, high
blood pressure, and help
better manage health
problems.
Can sharpen your mind,
fight cognitive decline.
Emotional Benefits:
It can be empowering,
improve your mood and
self-esteem.
Can make you more
resilient to stress, anxiety
and depression.
Inviting friends for a meal
can help alleviate stress
and add joy.
The more you plan, the better you’ll be able to
handle cooking for yourself. Nobody else is
depending on you to follow through. The
dedication needs to come from within.
Take your time when going grocery shopping!
Use the weekends to prepare what you can. Plan
your meals, buy the ingredients, and make some
recipes. Divide the recipes into single-serving
portions, put some in the fridge, and freeze the
rest.
You have two choices:
You can make regular-sized recipes, divide them
into weight loss surgery-sized portions, and
store these portions in individual packets or
containers. Benefits: you get to make more
interesting recipes, and you have multiple
meals on hand after cooking only once.
You can make small single-serving recipes that
you modify. individual portions after you cook
the recipe. Cooking this way can be a little more
effort because you won’t have leftovers.
Do a little of each!
Make some full-sized dishes depending on your
week plans, and fill in the rest with single-serving
meals.
Nutrition Value: Food quality and flavor
Time: Preparation time, meal times, work
schedule, and other activities
Cost
Cooking and shopping skills
Kitchen equipment: Steamer, rice cooker, slow
cooker. NEW IDEA: Instant Pot electric pressure
cooker
Fresh Produce: Buy some that will keep well 1 week, shop/trade
with friend for produce that is large or spoils quickly, buy in
season, prep & freeze for later use. Consider prewashed &
precut. Keep produce visible.
Frozen & Canned Produce: Look for healthier choices, read
labels for sodium & added sugars.
Spices, condiments, oils: A great way to get different flavors into
your meals. These can be added to your cooking or leftovers to
turn bland meals into spicy treats.
Protein: You can season and cook variety of meats to save a few minutes
during the week. Just thaw them and eat them on a salad or with a side of
veggies, or in a stir fry or other simple recipe.
Try making:
Soup with beans or diced chicken breast and vegetables, such as onions,
tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, and celery.
Low-fat meat loaf with extra lean ground turkey. Bake the meatloaf in a
muffin tin or slice it into smaller portions after the loaf is baked.
Chili with beans, ground turkey, tomatoes, celery, green peppers, and
onions.
A dozen or more hard-boiled eggs.
Casseroles with plenty of vegetables and one or more lean proteins such as
lean ham, canned tuna, non-fat cheddar cheese, ricotta or cottage cheese,
and chicken breast.
Seasoned, grilled or baked chicken breast, turkey or veggies burgers, or fish
to quickly thaw and serve with steamed veggies or a salad.
Aim for two servings of protein, and a chance to get in some extra fiber and
other nutrients.
Try one of the following:
Eggs with some chopped veggies, such as spinach, tomatoes, or fresh or
frozen broccoli florets. Add lean ham or top it with fat-free shredded cheese.
Find a high-protein pancake recipe that works for you. Ingredients like
cottage cheese, egg whites, and protein powder add protein. Add more
protein powder or oats to make your pancake batter thicker, or increase the
egg whites or almond milk to thin out your batter and make the pancake
more crepe-like. Aim for about 150 calories, or about 1 large scoop of
protein powder, ¼ cup of non-fat cottage cheese, and 2 to 3 egg whites. Use
½ teaspoon of baking powder, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and cinnamon to taste.
Muffins are perfectly portioned and you can add unflavored protein powder.
Try with low-fat cheese and turkey bacon.
Breakfast sandwich with lean ham, sliced tomatoes, and sliced fat-free
cheese. You can find high protein whole grain bread (example: P28 bread at
HyVee)
Start with 2-3oz protein, and make sure you get some veggies in your lunch. You
can add a starch or fruit if that fits into your meal plan.
Try one of the following:
Salmon burgers: puree canned salmon, canned garbanzo beans, pepper, two
egg whites, and a small amount of low-fat parmesan cheese. Eat your burger
no bun or wrapped in a lettuce leaf. You can also use canned tuna or ground
turkey for your burger base instead of salmon.
Salad: Use a base of greens, such as Romaine lettuce, spinach, or baby mixed
greens, and include lean protein, such as grilled chicken, tuna, canned
beans, or tofu. The rest is up to you, whether it’s fat-free cheese, sliced
strawberries, slivered almonds, mushroom slices, or bell pepper strips.
Zucchini pancakes served with non-fat ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
Grate a zucchini and half of an onion, mix them with two beaten egg whites,
pinch of salt, black pepper, and a scoop of unflavored protein powder. Bake
the pancakes until they are firm or cook them in a pan with cooking spray.
Mixed seasonal vegetables: Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, basil, fatfree mozzarella or feta cheese, lean ham, and a dash of olive oil.
For dinner, you can heat up one of your dishes from the weekend or defrost a
lean protein and serve it with some veggies.
Try one of the following:
Cauliflower “fried rice”: Defrost cooked chicken (from weekend batch) and a
small head of fresh cauliflower or a package of frozen cauliflower. Sauté
diced onions and minced garlic in 2 teaspoons of olive or use cooking spray,
then add the cauliflower and diced chicken, and some soy sauce and ginger.
Scramble 4 eggs in the side of the pan, and then mix them with the rest of
the dish.
Baked stuffed bell pepper: Stuff with Italian seasoned lean ground turkey or
non-fat ricotta. Serve with tomato sauce. Make 2 halves and save for next
day lunch or dinner.
Pizza on a Portobello mushroom. Add tomato sauce, veggies, and lean ham
or diced chicken.
A bean burrito using a low-carb wrap, fat-free refried or black beans, salsa,
diced tomatoes, and cooked shredded chicken or lean ground turkey with
Mexican seasonings. You can also add grilled veggies, such as yellow squash
or green peppers.
Learn to love leftovers!
When you make too much, get excited about
saving it and using it another time. Get creative
with your ingredients. If you eat half a can of tuna
for a snack, figure out how you will use the rest in
a different way so you don’t get bored and the
tuna doesn’t go to waste. For example, you can
make a tuna melt with fat-free cheese on a
Portobello mushroom.
Cut Measurements in half
Recipe says
Use
1/4 cup
2 tbsp
1/3 cup
2 tbsp + 2 tsp
1/2 cup
1/4 cup
2/3 cup
1/3 cup
3/4 cup
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp or 6 tbsp
1 tablespoon
1-1/2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon
Eat out, drive through, or order in occasionally. It is ok! Is all
about food choices and customizing. Your goal is to be smart at
balancing your macronutrients: protein, healthy fats, carbs.
Any fast food: Side salad with low-fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing
and a grilled chicken patty (150 calories, 22 grams of protein)
Ruby Tuesday: half of a Chicken Bella dinner with zucchini and
spaghetti squash (260 calories, 23 grams of protein)
AVOID: Burgers and fries that can be over 1,000 calories per order,
high carbs and lower in protein.
Use meal helpers.
Heat up a tray of Green Giant Just for One cauliflower and cheese
or Italian seasoned broccoli and carrots and serve it with chicken or
tuna, or toss tofu with bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables.
Take advantage of easy meal options.
Greek yogurt with flax seeds, canned tuna or salmon with cottage
cheese, and low-fat string cheese and baby carrots and hummus.
Frozen meals. Reality: they have preservatives,
but the occasional one can help you out by
keeping you from eating something far worse.
Choose ones with lean protein, at least one
serving of veggies – unless you’re planning to
add your own – and a whole grain or starchy
vegetable.
Goal: Aim for 20g of total protein and 10g total
fat. Carbohydrates will be in the higher end!
Pack extra veggies and limit starchy food.
Requires commitment
Learn basic skills
Plan ahead
Shop wisely
Balance meals
Handle & store food safely
Make meals pleasant
Share leftover meals or invite friends home
Keep it fun!